12-15 mph winds yesterday, lots of shooters. I was spotting and scoring the shooter on the second, long distance stage. The MD came up as we finished up the shooter and told me "You're up get it done."

I got my ducks in a row (jagged line as it turns out) and got on the rifle.

First target - 684 yds, dialed my dope, looked at the wind and sent it on it's way. Nothing. Spotter called "no help". Next three shots, the same. Wrote it off to wind. Next target, 851 yds. Same scenario, third target, 995 yds. same-o shit-o! Then it hit me: I had not re-zeroed my elevation from the first stage. Essentially I was dialed in to hit the damn space station.

Swallowed some crow, cranked down and then back up and got 3/4 on the 1040 and 1060 yard targets. Twelve points evaporated into my stupidity on the first three targets.

Here's today's pro tips: 1. Don't let anybody rush you to start a stage. 2. Crank down to zero BEFORE you get off the mat for the prior stage.

Lesson learned.

RMD

TL Davis: “The Second Amendment is special, not because it protects guns, but because its violation signals a government with the intention to oppress its people…”

Originally posted by rduckwor:Crank down to zero BEFORE you get off the mat for the prior stage.

Yes. Thanks for the reminder.

“Most men … can seldom accept the simplest and most obvious truth if it … would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions … which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabrics of their lives.”— Leo Tolstoy

Yep, we've all been there, done that. Forgetting to return elevation to zero is more common with less experienced shooters, but I've seen some really experienced shoots do it, too. I tend to do once a year each in both training and competition. Catch it either by trace or a way high impact.

As a Senior RO..... Had to Stage DQ a very good friend because the competitor was "flying the berm" at a major match. They had forgotten to take off the prev stage dope (1100 yds) and was dialing up more for the 400yd stage I was running.

Hated doing that. Safety rules.

Andrew

Duty is the sublimest word in the English Language - Gen Robert E Lee.

Another routine, if time allows. Measure the target/plate with the reticle for a wind "window". For example my 5mph wind hold is .4 mils for X distance, target is .4 mils wide, I know I have 5mph window to hit. I believe the L-R wind is 12-15. Hold the left edge of the target for 11 mph, looking at the left edge of the plate through the reticle not the center of plate. Might scoot over either way right before breaking the shot if I see a change, mirage..... See impact, measure it, go from there...

Originally posted by offgrid:I don't re-zero after a stage. Only time I'll re-zero is on the rare occasion I go into the 2nd rev.

I didn't realize offgrid doesn't re-zero. But I get it.

Offgrid (and others here) have more mileage than I in steel/tactical matches. And they've seen more scopes with failed elevation tracking. All that dialing down to zero and back up again puts additional wear on the elevator system. As offgrid states, as long as the shooter is absolutely certain the elevation turret is on the first rev, there's a valid reason NOT to dial back to zero.

I never really thought about this until now. Especially now that I may have a new scope with elevation wonkiness.

For my scopes with 20 or 25 MOA of elevation per rev, I sometimes don't go into the second rev during a match. 20 MOA is about 850 yards with my 6.5 Creedmoor, 750 yards with the 308, and 750 yards with my primary competition 223 AR-15.

The real challenge is with my 22lr trainer rifle, which only has 10 MOA per rev of elevation. Zeroed at 50 yards, I need 10 MOA at 125 yards, 20 MOA at 180 yards, and 30 MOA at 230 yards -- all of which are common distances for me.

Originally posted by El Cid 92:Run a tall target test and figure out the issues..... or a box drill/test and diagnose both windage/elevation issues.

That's the plan for next time at the range. I suspect tracking per se might be OK, but the scope doesn't appear to hold zero. Others have suggested I send the scope back now, but I think I want to show the manufacturer (no names for now) detailed examples of the issues. IMO the zero wanders a few MOA low and right after setting the zero stop.